Life's Not So Simple
by CrissyHearts
Summary: Ino used to like Sasuke a lot but now she feels like she's pretty over those feelings. Its high school and she finds a new crush to be with but what happens when she leaves high school and lives her life as an adult. Is everything going to change for better or for worse? Lots of surprises and couples paired together. Rated T for suggested content.
1. First Day of School

This is my very first fanfic and I don't really know if it's good but here it is. Feel free to tell me if you like it or not. It's not finished and I'm not sure if I will finish it but tell me if you want me to finish it. I really don't even know how I'm going to end this story if I finish it :)

It was the first day of school and Ino was getting ready. She woke up early to do her hair, make up, and to get dressed. She spent a good amount of time in fixing herself up to look cute. She had to look good on the first day of school. As she finished getting ready she opened the window and saw a familiar person at the house next door. His window was open as usual so that she could see in his room. Ino looked at Shikamaru who never failed to stand in front of his window by the time that Ino was done getting ready.

"Hey you look like you're trying to impress today." Shikamaru called to her

"Of course I'm trying to impress today, it's the first day of school and I've got to look nice." She smiled as she said this.

"Well you've accomplished your mission you troublesome girl getting up at early hours just to look 'cute'. I really don't see why girls have to make things so hard." He said with a crooked smirk on his face.

"See you out front in five minutes!" she stuck out her tongue at him and shut the window.

Shikamaru was already waiting out front by the time Ino had come down and joined him. They had a tradition to walk to school together every morning since their elementary days when their parents walked the both of them to school together. When their parents deemed them old enough to walk themselves to school they got in a habit of walking with each other in the mornings from then on.

"So how was your summer? Spend a lot of time at home?" Shikamaru asked as they walked side by side.

"Nope not really I went on a vacation with Ten Ten and her family. It was a lot of fun! Kinda like a long sleep over haha" she said happily.

"Sounds like a girl thing." He smirked

Ino rolled her eyes and just then they arrived at the school. They both went to their lockers but Shikamaru being a nice guy took Ino to her locker first. She opened her locker and grabbed her notebook and history book. After Ino visited her locker they went to Shikamaru's locker. They had first period together but Shikamaru didn't take notes so all he took out of his locker was the history book. They walked to class together and sat next to each other.

"Alright students look to your left and right. See those students? Well you won't be sitting next to them." The teacher announced as the students grumbled and mumbled to themselves. The teacher walked up to the board and wrote his name on the board. And in big letters he wrote "ASUMA"

"Alright that is my name and I'd like to go on to put you all into my seating chart." As Asuma put all the students into a seating chart Ino looked around to see who she was sitting next to. She sat right in the middle of Kiba and Sasuke. In front of her was Hinata and behind her sat Sakura.

_'This is going to be different'_ Ino thought to herself. Kiba turned to her and looked her up and down.

"Damn Ino you're looking good today"

Ino giggled "Thanks Inuzuka. You're looking hot this year too."

Ino heard a disgusted grunt come from Sasuke and Ino glanced at him. He obviously was not interested in hearing a flirty and suggestive conversation right now. Just then Asuma passed out the syllabus for the class to everyone. Ino listened to the rules and then decided to doodle on her syllabus. She drew a lot of cute things like a starfish, flowers, and a rabbit. She passed her first few classes eventless. At lunch she sat at a table and her friends came to join her. Sakura sat next to her. Ten Ten across from her and Hinata next to Ten Ten. Temari wasn't present for the first day of school though.

"Did you SEE how good Sasuke is looking today?" Sakura said with a dreamy voice

"Nah I don't have any classes with him this semester." Ten Ten said with no real interest.

Ino looked at Hinata who kept glancing at the other table where Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sai, Shino, and Lee sat. Ino smiled to herself. _'Looks like Hinata is still crushing on Naruto'_. Ino on the other hand was staring at the table because she was starting to crush on Kiba big time this year. She hadn't thought of him as attractive before but this year he had it all going for him. He was pretty tall, nicely toned, and tanned from playing sports all day. Ino did have a crush on Sasuke but it was starting to get really dull because Sakura could only talk to her about Sasuke. She knew Sakura had a fling with Sasuke this summer but with all of Sakura's Sasuke talk she had decided to not ask for details just yet. After lunch Ino's classes weren't very interesting considering it was the first day. The last class she had was one of her favorites, she had volleyball. She was captain of the volleyball team this year. She got all the girls together to do drills outside since it was a nice day. As Ino practiced volleyball with the other ladies some of the guys started to stare.

"I love it when girls come outside to practice!" Kiba stated excitedly

"Like you need any more distractions Kiba!" Naruto said laughing

"Shut up Naruto!" Kiba yelled

"You guys are such morons. Let's get back to practice you guys can skirt chase later." Sasuke said irritated. All the boys went back to practice and Sasuke decided to take a small glance over at the girls then joined his team.

Ino had the girls practice hard then hit the showers. She helped pick up all the volleyballs and put them in the storage shed. As she walked back she felt someone pull her arm and pull her behind the storage shed. Ino looked up and saw Kiba holding her arm.

"Kiba?" Ino looked confused to see him.

"Hey Ino…I just wanted to talk to you alone for a minute." Smiling at her

"Yeah? Okay what did you want to talk about?" Ino looked at Kiba curiously.

"I want to take you on a date this weekend. So I'll pick you up at 6, okay?" Kiba said

"Uh yeah okay. I'll go on a date with you." Ino smiled and blushed.

"Great!" Kiba smiled confidently and left soon after that.

Ino was pretty happy to be asked on a date and by none other than Kiba. It seemed that her first day of school had gone pretty good and she even got her first date of the year. It was all turning out to be a good year if only it lasted then it'd be perfect. Ino continued to pick up all the volleyball equipment and when she finished she decided to take a well-deserved shower. When she finished she changed into her clean clothes and gathered all her stuff from the shower room locker. Ino went to lock the shower locker room since all captains had the key to the gym and their gender shower locker rooms.


	2. A Really Good Friend

_'That's it for today. Time to go home and eat' _Ino thought as she started her walk home. The walk home wasn't very long and soon she was home. She immediately went to her room to put something more comfortable on and drop all her school stuff off. She changed into some shorts and a dark blue tank top. She looked around the house and found it empty. Both her brother and father were gone. She felt a little disappointed that she was home alone again. She went to the kitchen and found notes on the table. She picked them up and started reading them.

_Ino, _

_Sorry to leave you all by yourself but I have some important business to take care of at work. I'll be gone a few days. If you need any money you know where it is and don't forget no boys in the house. Please tell your brother not to stay out all day._

_Love you and your brother,_

_Dad_

She looked at the other note and began to read it.

_Ino,_

_I'm going out with friends and I might stay at my friend's so don't wait up for me. See you tomorrow and don't do anything I wouldn't do…on second though don't do anything I do. Have fun and feel free to call one of your GIRL friends over._

_Love you,_

_Deidara_

Ino stared at the notes in disbelief and put them down. How in the world did she always get left alone? This was very normal for her but it still didn't make her feel any better about being alone all the time. She felt a little hurt by her brother and dad, did they always have to just leave her a dumb note. She decided to let it go; after all they both had their own things to do so she'd do her own thing as well.

She picked up the phone and dialed Sakura's number. Sakura had always been her best friend since she was little. She knew Shikamaru and Chouji longer but Sakura had always remained her best friend. Shikamaru was her best friend too but that was different…he was her guy best friend so it was completely different.

"Hey"

"Hey Sakura. I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to my house and maybe order something in with me."

"Yes! I'm starving and I really don't feel like making something right now. I'll be over in a few minutes. Hey Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it alright if I spend the night at your house tonight?"

"Yeah I don't see why not"

"Okay good. I'll tell my parents and head over with my stuff"

"Okay see you soon then"

Ino went to see what she wanted to order in and decided just to get some Ramen order in since it sounded good. She went down to Ichiraku's and ordered 2 ramens to go. She saw Naruto there with Kiba but they didn't see her since they were currently having a ramen eating contest. The sight of the two boys face first in their bowls made Ino laugh, both boys looked up at her.

"Ino!" Kiba and Naruto said in unison

"Hey Naruto. Hey Kiba." Ino smiled at them

"What are you up to?" Naruto asked casually

"Just getting ramen for me and a friend" She said. She didn't want to mention to Naruto that she was getting food for her and Sakura because Naruto had a huge crush on Sakura. Sakura on the other hand didn't care for Naruto because her eyes were only on Sasuke. Ino always felt bad for Naruto and decided not to bring down his good mood by mentioning Sakura's name. It had got back to Naruto that Sakura and Sasuke had a fling in the summer. For the past month anybody that mentioned Sakura's name around Naruto had gotten a not so bright Naruto.

"You guys eating out tonight then?" She asked

"Yeah my mom was bitching at us so we decided just to get out of the house and get something to eat." Kiba told her with an uncaring attitude.

"Well my order is done so I'll see you guys at school tomorrow. Bye!" Ino said this as she grabbed the bag with her order and waved to the boys with her free hand.

"Bye!" both Naruto and Kiba said at the same time

Ino walked home with the food she bought and opened her door. She put the food on the table and took out the ramen. Just then she heard a knock on her door and she went to open it. Sakura came in with her stuff. Sakura knew the routine and put her things in Ino's room. Ino began to eat her ramen and Sakura soon joined her.

"You're alone tonight huh?" Sakura said

"Yeahup my dad and brother will be gone all night." Ino replied

"Good! I've been dying to tell you about me and Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed

"What happened?" Ino asked nonchalantly

"Well we got together for most of the summer and it was so amazing! We kissed and spent so much time together. We even…." Sakura told Ino

"You DID it with Sasuke!?" Ino asked in a shocked tone

"Well….yeah we did" Sakura said with a blush

"He took your virginity?" Ino asked even though she knew the answer already

"Yeah he did." Sakura said with a bright red face

"Did it hurt? What happened? Are you guys together now?" Ino couldn't help but blurt out her questions.

Sakura laughed, "Yeah it hurt but not the whole time and I guess it just happened when we kissed in his room…we were in the moment. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend but we still see each other and he hasn't been seeing anyone else."

"Wow Sakura. I didn't know you guys were so serious but if you're happy then I'm happy" Ino told her and hugged her.

"There's also something I wanted to ask you…" Sakura said uneasily

"What did you want to ask me?" Ino looked at Sakura a little curious

"Well….Sasuke wants to come here and see me. Can he PLEASE stay the night here?" Sakura blurted out

"What!? Sakura I don't know about that…" Ino was shocked and felt a little blind-sided at the request

"Please, Ino. I really want to see him and I miss him so much. I can't go to his house because his brother is there and well my house is out because my parents are home." Sakura pleaded with Ino

Ino felt uneasy about it but with Sakura pleading with her like this she gave in to the request. "Okay he can come over this time"

Sakura hugged Ino excitedly "Oh! Thank you! Thank you!"

Ino smiled at the sheer happiness that Sakura displayed on her face and hugged her back. An hour later Ino opened the door for Sasuke and let him in.

"Come on in" She told him

"Thanks. Oh and thanks for letting me come over." He told her

"No problem, I guess you and Sakura can sleep in the living room and I'll be in my room if you need anything." She told him

"Alright" was Sasuke's only reply

Ino went upstairs to her room and ended up hanging out there the rest of the night. She felt a little hurt that Sakura had ditched her to be with Sasuke but she was happy that Sakura was happy. Ino decided to do her homework and she ended up finishing it pretty quickly. After putting her homework away Ino decided to go to sleep.


	3. Heartbreak

Ino awoke the next morning earlier than usual. She had gone to bed early so it only made sense that she woke up early as well. She took a shower and started to blow dry her hair. She fixed her hair so that it looked really cute then she got dressed. She decided to wear a cute white skirt with a purple shirt that had black see through lace on her back. She got all her stuff for school together and put on some black flats. She was on her way after that. She decided to eat at Shikamaru's house for breakfast and texted Sakura that she had left early since Sakura and Sasuke were still sleeping. Ino knew Sakura would check her phone 1st when she awoke. Shikamaru ate his breakfast slowly. It was way too early for him in the mornings and all he really wanted to do was go back to sleep. Ino looked at Shikamaru and started to smile.

Shikamaru noticed and asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking that you're really not a morning person huh?" she replied as she continued to smile

"No of course I'm not. Why are you so bright and happy in the mornings?" he asked her

"It's because I got a good night's sleep and that's why I feel so good this morning." She said with a big smile.

"It should be illegal for someone to be so bright and shiny in the mornings." He told her.

Ino made a fake shocked face and gave him a punch in the arm and said, "Rude!"

"Well I'm done eating so let's get started on our troublesome walk to school." He told her.

"It's not that bad and you know it." Ino said while laughing.

"So….why did you come over so early this morning?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Oh well Sakura and Sasuke spent the night at my house." She told him uneasily.

"What? You're kidding, right?" he said mildly shocked.

"Nope" she simply told him.

"Don't you like Sasuke though?" he asked in confusion.

"Well yeah I kind of like him but he and Sakura got together this summer." She told him

"That doesn't bother you?" he asked her.

"Not really but that's only because I was gone all summer and I didn't spend any time with Sasuke. I am a little jealous to be honest because Sasuke is really attractive and I would like to date him but he's with Sakura now. I can't do anything about that so I'll just support their choice." Ino told Shikamaru.

"Wow you seem to be okay with this. Is there another guy you've got your eye on?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ino asked curiously and with a bit of shock in her tone.

"Ino I've known you since we were little and you're never okay with someone taking something from you unless you have something else that catches your attention." Shikamaru said with a crooked smile.

Ino thought about that statement for a while and said, "Yeah you're right!"

They both started laughing for a bit and then Ino said, "Its Kiba."

"Kiba huh? He's pretty cocky you know." He told Ino

"Yeah I know but we're going on a date and I'm pretty interested in him." She told him.

"Well as long as you're happy then I'm happy." Shikamaru told her.

"What about you? Any girl that catches your eye?" Ino asked curiously.

Shikamaru thought about it for a while and said, "Not really." He knew it was a lie but he didn't really want to discuss his love life with Ino and that was only because he didn't want to admit his love interests just yet.

"Okay" Ino said to him as they walked into the doors of high school and went to their lockers. They got to school pretty early and decided to go their separate ways. Ino went to hang out with her girl friends as Shikamaru went to go hang out with the guys.

Ino walked over to her usual group of girls consisting of Temari, Ten Ten, Hinata, and usually Sakura too but at this point Sakura was absent from the group.

"Hey ladies." Ino greeted her friends.

"Hello" Hinata greeted Ino.

"Hey" greeted Temari and Ten Ten.

"So guess what!?" Ten Ten asked excitedly.

"I don't know what?" asked Ino.

"Okay well it turns out that there is a new girl in class and apparently she's already been bragging that she and Sasuke have been together! Juicy, right? Well it doesn't stop there apparently Uchiha has been getting around with a lot of girls that are from out of town. He's a huge play boy." Ten Ten said.

"What? Are you sure this is all true?" Ino asked Ten Ten.

"Yeah I heard it all from Hinata because she was vacationing with the Uchihas lately. Tell her it's true Hinata." Ten Ten said.

"Yeah it's really true. All of it is true. I met some of the broken hearted girls and they told me about Sasuke." Hinata said meekly.

"Oh no." Ino said. 'Sakura is going to be broken hearted when she hears this news…' Ino thought to herself. Ino picked up her phone to text Sakura and said bye to her friends. As she left the group of girls, she texted Sakura and asked where she was. As soon as she sent the text she saw Sasuke walk in the school and Sakura was not with him. Ino quickly walked up to him and asked, "Where is Sakura?"

Sasuke looked at her and replied, "At your house, we broke up this morning."

"You broke up with her? Why?" she asked him.

"She was clingy Ino and that just isn't what I'm into." He told her honestly.

"Still she really loved you." Ino told him.

"That's the problem. She's in love with me even though we hardly know each other. It's just too much." He said to Ino.

Ino just stared at him for a minute and told him, "okay." Then she left to go comfort Sakura who Ino knew would be devastated.


	4. The Date

Ino ran all the way to her house and opened her door to a crying Sakura. She looked awful and Ino took her over to the sofa so they could sit down. Ino let Sakura cry for as long as she wanted then listened to her go on about what happened and how she felt. Ino only comforted her and said nothing to indicate or give her false hope that they would get back together. Ino knew that Sasuke would not want to get back with Sakura anytime soon at least, because Sasuke was right they hardly knew each other. Ino continued to hug and be there for her friend until Ino finally pulled herself away from Sakura to call the school. Ino pretended to be Sakura's mom and called her in sick. Soon Ino hung up the phone and went to make Sakura her favorite comfort food. Ino brought the food to Sakura and she began to eat. Ino knew that all they could do was eat comfort food together and watch TV. They both felt better after doing that together. Sakura was still very sad but she knew that she couldn't whole up in Ino's house forever. She had to start the moving on process but it was going to be a very long time before the moving on process would be complete.

"Thanks so much Ino." Sakura said.

"At least the good part is that today is Friday and you don't have to see him until Monday, right?" Ino said.

"Yeah, you're right. Is it alright if I stay here for a while?" Sakura asked Ino.

"Yes of course you can stay. I'm going on a date with Kiba but go ahead and stay." Ino told her.

"That's right Kiba asked you out huh? Let's go get you ready for your date. I'm still really upset about Sasuke but I think getting you ready for your date will at least keep my mind off him." Sakura told Ino.

"Yeah sounds good. Let's get started." Ino said to Sakura as she gave her a smile.

They both had a pretty good time laughing and getting Ino ready for her date. Sakura seemed to get her mind off of Sasuke as they spent some girl time together. Sakura fixed Ino's long hair while Ino worked on her make up.

"You know I missed you a lot during the summer, forehead." Ino said with a smile

"Really? I would have thought you would have plenty of company with your food Ino-pig!" Sakura said to Ino teasingly. Ino gave her a fake shocked look and then smacked her with a small pillow that lay on the floor of her bedroom. Both girls started to burst into laughter. When they finally gained their composure they started to work on Ino's outfit. Ino and Sakura both pulled out just about all of Ino's clothes looking for the perfect outfit.

"Sakura…how about when I get back from my date we call all the girls back for a sleep over at my house?" Ino asked Sakura.

Sakura looked up at Ino with great appreciation and smiled, "I'd like that a lot Ino."

"Good because I have to admit I'm really craving a fun night with all my girls!" Ino said excitedly.

"I'll get things ready for you while you're gone and then when you get back we can call all the girls over. Sound like a plan?" Sakura told Ino.

"Yeah that's perfect." Ino looked at the time and quickly put on her shoes. "It's time for my date! See you in a while!" Ino yelled to Sakura as she walked out the door. Just as Ino exited the door she saw Kiba walk around the corner and she met with him. She looked him over and was impressed. He was looking very attractive for their date. They both weren't formal looking but it was obvious that they were trying to impress each other. Ino wore a tight purple skirt that showed off her curves with a grey loose fitting top that had sleeves going half way down her arms. The shirt she wore was so loose that it hung off one of her shoulders. Kiba wore jeans and V-neck shirt that showed off his muscles and a baggy sweater that fit his style well. Ino walked over to Kiba and gave him a hug.

"I'm ready to go." She told him with a smile.

"I can see that." He said with an excited tone. "You look great Ino."

"Thanks so do you." Ino replied with a blush.

Kiba gave a small laugh and grinned. "So we're going to eat an early dinner and then I'm going to teach you to skateboard." He told her confidently.

Ino looked at him a bit skeptical then replied in an uneasy tone, "Uh okay…sounds fun."

Kiba knew that Ino probably didn't think his date sounded like much fun but he knew how to have a good time and this was the perfect way to spend some one on one time together. Kiba grabbed her hand and began to walk her to their first destination.

"So not be all nosey but I saw that you weren't in class today. What happened?" Kiba asked curiously.

"Oh just had a situation at home." She told Kiba. She knew Kiba wouldn't tell anyone about Sakura but she didn't want to tell any of Sakura's personal situations to anybody. So she kept Sakura's heart ache to herself.

"Yeah? Is everything cool now?" He asked a little concerned.

"Yeah everything is all good now." She told him with a smile.

"You know I didn't think you'd actually go out on a date with me to be honest." Kiba confessed with a nervous laugh.

"Really? Why?" Ino asked curiously.

"Well to be honest I thought you were still really into Sasuke. I thought that maybe you were holding out on him to ask you out. I really don't know why everybody thinks he is so damn amazing. There are other guys in this world but all the girls just seem to want him. It's a little weird but hey whatever, I'm glad you agreed to go on a date with me." Kiba told her.

"To be honest I really am attracted to Sasuke but he doesn't seem to look my way and this year I found myself starting to take an interest in you. So when you did ask me on a date I was pretty happy." She told him with a smile.

"Awww what? I'm your back up plan." He said to her in a teasing tone.

She laughed and gave him a small shove. Kiba started to laugh when she playfully shoved him.

"Well it looks like we're here."Kiba told Ino. Ino looked up at where they were and Ino didn't really recognize the place they were standing in front of. Kiba saw the pure confusion in her facial expression.

"We're at a restaurant that my family likes to come to." He told her

"I've never seen it before." She told him a little embarrassed.

"Yeah a lot of people overlook it all the time." He told her with a smile.

"So is it good?" she asked him curiously.

"Yeah it's great. I like it here a lot and I bet you will too." He told her as he grabbed her hand and gently led her in the restaurant named Nagi's Tea Shop. As they walked into the restaurant Ino was in awe at how small but comforting it looked. It gave off a homey feel to it and Ino thought  
that if the food was good then she would like it just like Kiba had said.

Kiba lead Ino to a table that he liked to sit in when he came to the restaurant and asked her what she felt like eating.

"Uhm do they serve yakitori?" she asked him.

"Yeah they do." Kiba said and ordered them some tea, yakitori, and a ramen.

The date went great at the restaurant they shared a lot of laughs and flirted. The both liked the food they ordered and when they finished they stayed talking at the restaurant for an extra half hour before moving on to their next location which was a park.

"I'm really going to have to stand on that?" Ino asked uneasily.

"Yeah! Come on trust me, Ino." He told her.

"Okay." She said to him.

He grabbed both her hands and helped her up on the skateboard. She wobbled as soon as both feet stepped on it. Kiba put one of his hands on her hip to steady her. They both looked at each other and smiled. Kiba kept his hands on Ino as she began to start to get the board moving. It wasn't like she would be a pro skateboarder anytime soon but she did have fun. After an hour of practicing together Kiba leaned into Ino for a kiss and she accepted his lips. The kissed for a while and when they parted they decided to head back home. Both of them walked home in peaceful silence walking hand in hand. Kiba dropped Ino at her house and gave her another kiss.

"Thanks. I had so much fun with you." She told him with a smile.

"No problem. See you soon, Ino." He told her with a smirk and walked off.


	5. Awkwardness and Growing Up

Ino took out her key and opened her door. She walked in her house and felt the butterflies in her stomach. She really liked Kiba and the date showed her that they had a good time together. Ino looked up around the house and didn't see Sakura in the kitchen or dining room so she went upstairs to check her room. She saw her door was half closed and opened it. Then she saw something that she knew she shouldn't have seen. It was Sakura but she naked and on top of her was Sasuke. He was naked too and he was obviously having sex with Sakura on HER bed. She stood there half hidden by her door in utter shock. Sasuke looked up at Ino but didn't stop thrusting into Sakura but he did stare at Ino. His eyes seemed to pierce her soul and for a few moments Ino stood their frozen but she quickly snapped out of it. Ino quickly left and as she left Sasuke gave a smirk to Ino's vanishing form. Ino felt extremely embarrassed and decided to leave quietly and come back when Sasuke wasn't around.

Ino came back to her house after she spent an hour in the park she was sure Sasuke would be gone by now but she knew she was going to have a hard time looking Sakura in the eye tonight. She finally got the strength to get up and start the walk home. Ino knew that having a sleep over right now was not particularly something she was up to but she had promised Sakura so she was going to try to mentally black out the images she just saw an hour ago. Ino walked into her house and this time Sakura was sitting at the dining table.

"Hey Ino." Sakura chirped happily.

"Hey" Ino replied looking at the happy Sakura. 'I know why you're so happy…" Ino thought to herself.

"Ready to get the party started?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah let's call all the girls over now." Ino said with a smile.

The sleep over was not the best Ino ever threw but it was satisfactory. All the girls got together and gossiped about boys and about the new girl named Karin. They painted each other's nails and played truth or dare. Ino ended up daring Hinata to ask out Naruto and she actually did it! Hinata almost fainted doing it but she accomplished it. All the girls had a pretty good time snacking and dancing around when they heard a song they liked on the radio.

All the girls left Ino's house after they took turns showering and getting ready. Ino hugged all her friends tightly and waved them goodbye.

Ino finally decided to confront Sakura about Sasuke. So she went to Sakura's house and asked her if they could talk. Sakura said yes of course and invited Ino in the house. They both went up to Sakura's room.

"What's on your mind?" Sakura asked Ino.

"Well I wanted to talk to you about Sasuke." Ino said

"What about him?" She asked Ino.

"Are you two dating or something?" She asked curiously.

"No not really." Sakura said

"Then what is going on with you and him?" She asked Sakura a little concerned.

"Well I talked to Sasuke and he doesn't want to date anyone right now so I and he just mess around." She confessed to Ino a little embarrassed.

"You're okay with no commitment from him?" Ino asked a little concerned.

"Yeah I talked to Sasuke about it and I decided that I want to just have fun with him." Sakura said.

"Well if that is what you want…then I guess I support you but be careful. I really don't want you to get hurt." Ino told Sakura with concern in her voice.

"Don't worry Ino I'll be careful." She told Ino with a smile.

With that conversation over Ino felt a little better but she was still uneasy about the relationship between Sakura and Sasuke. Even though Ino had doubts about it Sakura seemed to be fine with the dynamics of their new relationship. It didn't last very long though. Sasuke and Sakura had decided to split ways after Sakura became interested in Gaara. Sasuke seemed fine with Sakura moving on and he went on his way to sleep with any girl he wanted.

Gaara and Sakura seemed like an odd couple when people first looked at them but they got along very well and made each other very happy. They soon fell madly in love with each other and in the last year of high school got engaged. Even though they got in engaged they didn't get married right away. All of Sakura's and Gaara's friends were very happy and accepting of the two soon to be married couple.

Naruto and Hinata had started dating after Ino had dared Hinata to ask Naruto out at her sleep over. Ever since that date they became pretty much inseparable. They love each other a lot and as soon as they were out of high school they got married. Their wedding was small but beautiful. Hinata's family had wanted a huge wedding but Hinata thought it was more fitting to have a modest and intimate wedding. Everybody loved being at Naruto's and Hinata's wedding. They were obviously meant for each other because they both couldn't keep their loving eyes off each other.

As for Ino she had started dating Kiba and her relationship was good sometimes but when they fought…it got extremely bad. Both Ino and Kiba were hot tempered which exploded into violent fights sometimes and extremely violent verbal arguments. Their relationship seemed like poison to the people on the outside but to Ino and Kiba they loved each other despite their violent tempers. Neither of the two would back down in a fight and that is what often lead to violence in their relationship. The often broke up but would get back together soon afterwards. When they got back together it was usually because they had passionate make up sex when they got together to 'talk' (their talk was usually another argument about why they broke up). This relationship was on and off for the entire high school chapter of their lives.

Ino was very upset and extremely pissed off at none other than Kiba Inuzuka. She hated that idiot. She yelled at him earlier for flirting with a girl at the club they went to together. That ended her night really fast when they got into a fight. She yelled in public that it was over between them and then stomped away angrily. She knew this time was the last straw for her. Ino knew she always said that but this time she really meant it. Ino and Kiba were officially over after 4 years of dating on and off. Ino felt a little pang of sadness but mostly she felt relief. Ino decided to go talk to her friend Shikamaru. She walked to his apartment which was a block away from her own apartment. She knocked on the door softly.

Shikamaru opened the door and let Ino in. Then he said, "Hey, Ino."

"Hey Shika. I just wanted to talk." She gave a slight frown.

"When don't you?" he teased lightly and gave her a small smirk.

She lightly smacked his arm and gave him a small smile.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked her.

"I broke up with Kiba." Ino stated

"Again?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino blushed slightly and nodded. "This time is final." She told him.

"….Ino….you always say that.." Shikamaru said with concern on his face.

"Yeah but this time is different. I really mean it. I don't want to be in that kind of relationship anymore." She told him with desperation in her voice.

"I get it. I believe you." Shikamaru told his friend as he gave her a hug.

Ino hugged Shikamaru back and was glad that he believed her. She knew that Shikamaru would always be on her side no matter what happened between them. Ino looked around Shikamaru's apartment as she pulled out of the hug.

"Soooooo Shika does this mean she said yes?" Ino asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah Temari agreed to move in with me so that's why it looks so girly and homey in here." Shikamaru said.

"I like it! It looks great and I'm really happy for the both of you." Ino smiled sincerely. She loved Shikamaru and Temari so much and was glad they finally started getting serious even if it was often a 'pain' for Shikamaru. Ino knew that they really did care a lot for each other and that they suited each other nicely. Ino decided to leave before Temari came home so that Shikamaru and Temari could have some alone time. Ino decided to go home and sleep early. She had work tomorrow.

Ino, Sakura, and Hinata had become nurses at the local hospital. Ten Ten was a police officer and Temari became a high school teacher. Karin was a bartender at the club. As for the guys Naruto, Sasuke, and Neiji became fire fighters. Lee and Kiba were police officers. Chouji was a high school teacher, Sai was an art teacher, and Shikamaru was the principal of the school. As for Shino he became a lawyer. Everybody was pretty happy with their jobs but of course they did have their bad days.


	6. Surprises

Ino went to work and kept herself occupied like that so she wouldn't think about Kiba anymore. It worked for the most part and now she hardly even thought about Kiba. She was working a lot though and decided after working so hard for so long that she would finally take the girls' invitation to a club night. Ino got dressed up that night and went club hopping with all her friends. She was having a great time drinking and dancing all night. She usually didn't drink this much but decided to let loose a bit.

Ino was dancing when someone put his hand on her arm and turned her around. Ino looked up confused and saw Kiba.

"Ino! What are you doing!?" he yelled over the loud music.

"I'm having fun, Kiba. Just leave me alone." She yelled back at him.

"Ino are you stupid! Your dress is all the way past your hips!" He yelled at her as he pulled her dress down.

"Don't touch me Kiba!" she glared at him.

"You're hella drunk and acting like one of those stupid bitches!" He yelled at her.

Ino slapped him so hard that for a minute Kiba didn't register it. Then as soon as Ino hit him she was gone. Ino left the club in tears as she pulled down her dress. She knew she acted like a fool but she hadn't even realized what she was doing until Kiba came along and yelled at her for it. The only reason she slapped him was because she was embarrassed and she hated when he called her a bitch. She went into a bar and sat down. She looked up to see that she was sitting right next to Sasuke. He was drinking heavily but it didn't seem to affect him much. Ino wondered if maybe he was having a fight with his lover or something because he sure was drinking a lot. Ino asked to join in his drinking and he allowed her to join him. They both drank but Ino knew she couldn't keep up with him so she drank at her own pace. Both ended up drinking way too much because soon they weren't even drinking anymore but kissing. Sasuke dropped money on the counter and pulled Ino out of the bar. They began passionately kissing as they made their way to Sasuke's house. Sasuke picked Ino up in his strong arms as Ino wrapped her legs around his waist and into his house they went.

That night Ino and Sasuke had a drunken one night stand. Maybe it happened because they were lonely or maybe it was because they just felt attracted to each other in the moment, whatever their reasons they decided not to speak about it. It was enough to admit that it shouldn't have happened but to actually speak about it was way too much for either to handle. Not speaking about it equaled not having to worry about it. Ino and Sasuke parted ways. They didn't say much to each other except for helping each other find clothes and saying goodbye. Ino was glad that Sasuke wasn't the type of guy to rub his conquest in her face. She knew he was pretty drunk last night and probably just saw it as a mistake sleeping with each other like that. It was all over now and now they could get on with their lives keeping last night a secret.

When Ino returned home she quickly jumped into the shower and began to clean herself up. She didn't have to work until that night but she felt so embarrassed that she was Sasuke's one night stand. When Ino cleaned herself up she decided to get breakfast and ended up eating at Hinata's and Naruto's house. "I didn't see you after that whole scene with Kiba." Hinata said meekly.

"Yeah. I just went home. I was too upset to have a good time." Ino felt badly for lying but there was no way she could admit what happened right in front of Naruto.

"Yeah sorry about Kiba, Ino but he's been having a rough time at work and I think he just misses you." Naruto said to Ino.

"It's okay Naruto. I just don't want to be with him anymore." Ino told Naruto.

"Yeah I kinda guessed as much but ya know Kiba he can't take a hint." Naruto said.

"Yeah." Ino simply said.

"So I wanted to tell you that Naruto and I are expecting, Ino." Hinata told her shyly.

"Really!? That's great Hinata! I'm so happy for the both of you." Ino smiled at the happy couple who decided to share a small kiss.

"Yeah I'm going to be a dad!" Naruto smiled proudly.

Ino knew that Naruto must have been extremely happy about having his own family since he was alone most of his childhood. His parents died tragically in a car accident but baby Naruto had survived. Ino was happy to see that her friend finally had his own family now.

"When did you two find out?" Ino asked curiously.

"We found out yesterday morning." Hinata said brightly. "I'm about 6 weeks along."

Ino smiled at the couple and when they were finished talking she went to work. Ino loved being at work. She loved putting in a lot of hours and working hard. She mentally decided not to go clubbing anymore and focused on work again. She did however have a ladies night that was held at her friends' houses. Ino, Sakura, and Hinata were always talking about work and the Uzumaki's unborn child.

"So who will be the baby's god parents?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Well Naru really wants Sasuke to be the god father and I get to pick the god mother." Hinata said.

"Sasuke's the god father? Then have Ino be the god mother. It'd be too weird if I was co god parenting with my ex booty call." Sakura said in laughter.

"Is that alright with you, Ino?" Hinata asked politely.

Ino looked at Hinata and didn't really see the harm in it. After all Sasuke and her were adults. So she decided to take the title and responsibility. "Yeah Hinata of course I'll be the god mother." Ino said as she smiled sweetly at her friend.

All three girls had a fun time talking and laughing together. Ino decided to go home early because she was getting very tired. She seemed to be getting more and more tired lately. She decided to start exercising again and eating better to get more energy. Ino woke up bright and early and started her new exercise routine. She came home and after she made a good healthy breakfast she threw it up. She felt so sick that she had to stay in bed. 'I must have overdid the exercise routine…I didn't know I was that rusty." She decided that she'd take it a little easier tomorrow.


	7. Not What I Thought

Even though Ino was taking it easier on her routine she kept throwing up after she exercised. She was very confused and decided that maybe this was an even bigger problem than she originally thought. So she made an appointment to get a checkup and the doctor scheduled one for that same day. Ino waited patiently for the nurse to go through routine procedure then the doctor came in.

"Well Miss Yamanaka we have to get you a urine and blood test to make sure there isn't anything serious going on." the doctor told her

Ino nodded and began to give her blood sample and then gave her urine sample.

"Well you can leave now and we'll give you a call if the results were abnormal but be sure to take things easy for now." The doctor ordered her.

"Alright. Thank you." Ino said as she exited the hospital.

Ino decided to visit her father since it had been a while since she had seen him. Her father was usually gone on business trips because he owned different flower stores around the country and he always needed to oversee something for the stores.

Ino walked up to the flower shop and saw her father behind the counter fixing a bouquet of flowers for a little boy. Ino smiled at the scene of her father wrapping the flowers up nicely and putting a bow on them. After her father handed the young boy the flowers and said, "She'll love these and don't worry it's on the house this time."

Ino walked over to the counter as the boy scurried out and said, "Thanks so much!"

Ino gave her father a big hug and said, "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

Inoichi smiled and gave Ino a loving kiss on the forehead then said, "Well I'm right here now. Come let me make you something to eat and then we can talk."

Ino smiled brightly and had a great time talking with her father for the first time in a long time. She didn't tell her father that she was sick because she knew it'd just worry him. 'It's not anything serious anyway' Ino thought to herself.

Ino was at work when she received a call from the doctor so she excused herself from her current patient and answered the phone. "Hello?" she said.

"Miss Yamanaka?" the doctor asked.

"Yes this is she." Ino replied.

"This is doctor Aki and I was calling you to tell you about your test results from your physical. It seems that the reason you've been so ill is because you have a type of anemia. Do you know what that means?" doctor Aki said.

"Yeah that I don't have enough of a mineral or vitamin, right?" Ino said.

"Yes that's the case here and I'd like you to come in today if that's possible to discuss how to make sure this doesn't happen again. Are you able to come to an appointment in about 3 hours?" doctor Aki asked.

"Yes I can do that. I get off work in an hour." Ino replied.

"Okay good we'll discuss this more then. See you in a few hours Miss Yamanaka. Have a good day." Doctor Aki said.

"Alright see you then and you too." Ino replied before hanging up the phone.

Ino looked at her watch and went back to work as she thought, 'well it looks like it was a bit more serious then I originally thought.' Ino had a few patients to check on left and after she checked their statuses and answered their questions she clocked out of work. She still had a few hours until her appointment so she decided to go get some tea at a local shop. She found herself walking into Nagi's Tea Shop. She loved the tea their but as soon as she walked in she locked eyes with Kiba. 'Oh no I forgot Kiba loves coming here too…' she thought to herself. She didn't want to leave just because her ex-boyfriend was there but she knew Kiba would try to talk to her if she stayed. As she turned to leave she spotted Sasuke in a table not too far from where she was standing so she decided to fake like she was meeting him there and sat across from him. "I know this is weird but can I sit with you? Kiba is here and I really don't want him to talk to me right now." She asked Sasuke with pleading eyes.

"I guess you're lucky that I don't like Kiba and feel like pissing him off right now." He said simply.

"Thanks so much, have you ordered yet?" She asked him.

"I was just about to." He told her.

"Okay then I'll order with you." She told him. Just as she finished her sentence a women came over and asked for their order.

"I'll have tea and dumplings." Sasuke said to the waitress that was obviously checking him out and apparently not ashamed to show it.

"And I'll have tea with some ramen." Ino ordered slightly louder than normal so the waitress could snap out of her mental thoughts of Sasuke.

The waitress smiled at Sasuke sweetly and nodded her head to both Ino and Sasuke. "I'll get your orders in for you." She said to them and left.

"Well you sure get a lot of attention." Ino remarked to Sasuke.

"I guess." Was Sasuke's only response.

"So did Naruto tell you he was having a baby with Hinata, yet?" Ino asked trying to make conversation.

"You know Ino you don't have to talk." Sasuke told her.

"It just seems really weird to eat with someone and not talk to them." Ino said.

"I thought you would prefer not to talk considering everything." He said.

Ino blushed heavily and knew exactly what Sasuke meant. He was talking about the night they had together. That very shameful night on her part, of course Ino had a great time but the whole thing was very spontaneous and maybe even a little inappropriate. Okay let's be honest a lot inappropriate they hadn't been dating they just had a passionate night together and that wasn't so bad as long as it didn't happen again, right?

"Should we talk about what happened that night or something?" Ino asked him.

"Do you want to?" Sasuke asked.

"Sort of, I mean it's the responsible thing to do." Ino said.

"Okay" was all Sasuke said to her.

'Okay he's obviously not going to start this so I guess I will.' Ino thought to herself as she began the conversation.

"I was really drunk that night." Ino said. 'Oh great Ino way to start this conversation' Ino thought to herself sarcastically.

"Not that drunk." He simply told her.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"You knew that you slept with me so you weren't THAT drunk." He told her.

"I guess that's true but it did play a role in what happened that night and I was upset about a fight that I had with Kiba as well." Ino said

"You're back with him?" He asked

"No I just had a fight with him when I saw him at the club but I didn't want to go home so I just went to that bar that we drank at." She explained to him.

"I won't say anything." Sasuke told her

"Really? You won't tell anybody that we slept together?" she asked him

"No, I like my privacy anyway." He told her

"Thanks. Wait why you were in that bar alone?" she asked him curiously.

"Karin's pregnant." He said to her.

"With your baby?" she said in shock.

"Yes" he just replied

"What is she going to do about it? Did you tell anybody about it?" She asked him

"She'll keep it of course and I told Naruto and Neiji." He said to her

"Wait if Karin is pregnant then why did you have sex with me?" she asked him in confusion.

"I said she's pregnant not that we're married. I do what I want." Sasuke told her

"I guess that makes sense but are you going to make a commitment to her or something?" Ino asked

"She'll move in with me." He said

"I won't tell her about what happened with me and you, just so you know." She said to him

"I wasn't really concerned with you telling anybody." He told her.

"Why?" she asked him

"It was just sex and it's not like we're dating." He replied

Ino blushed heavily and said, "Yeah but still…"

"Unless you were thinking that me having sex with you meant we were going to start dating." He said looking at her reaction.

Ino was so embarrassed that her whole face turned red and for once in her life she was speechless.

Sasuke just gave a smirk and began to eat the food the waitress had just brought to them.

After her awkward lunch with Sasuke Ino walked to the doctor's office and went to her appointment. She couldn't believe the conversation she had with Sasuke and she soon found herself wondering why Sasuke was alright with Karin having his child? She assumed it was because Sasuke was lonely. Sasuke's parents died and he was left alone for most of his young life. He had grown closer to Naruto but of course they were just friends and it wasn't the same as having a family. Sasuke must like having the company of women and perhaps he was alright with a baby because now it meant that Sasuke had his own family. Then Ino found herself wondering if Sasuke would get married to Karin. There was no real need to get married to her and just because she was pregnant didn't mean he had to stay with her, right? He wouldn't marry her…would he? Ino didn't know why but now she was feeling jealous. Why was she jealous of Karin…was it possible that now she was the one that had feelings for him. He was handsome but she didn't know much else aside from the recent news that he was going to be a father soon. Ino's gut tensed up and she decided not to think about it anymore. Sasuke's business wasn't any of her concern….


	8. Concerns and Friends

Sasuke found himself walking to Naruto's home. He knew that he wanted to talk to him especially since Naruto was going to be a father as well. He walked up to the door and knocked. His blonde friend opened the door and smiled widely.

"Sasuke! I didn't know you were coming by today." Naruto said.

"Yeah I just came to talk." Was Sasuke's response

"Well come on in" Naruto invited

"Where's Hinata?" Sasuke asked

"She's working right now" Naruto told him. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke as they both took a seat on the sofa. "So are you and Karin okay?" he asked Sasuke curiously.

"Yeah. I suppose so." Sasuke said

"What are your plans?" Naruto asked curiously

"I don't know to be honest." Sasuke told him

"Well are you going to support her decisions?" Naruto asked

"Yeah she is the mother" Sasuke said

"What if she wants to raise the baby as a couple?" Naruto asked

"I do it?" Sasuke asked

"I don't know how close you and Karin are but do you care about Karin enough to live with her, not to mention deal with her?" Naruto asked Sasuke

"Karin gets on my nerves sometimes but for the most part she's always been around and I guess we know how to deal with each other. I haven't been close to many women but for some reason I always go back to Karin." Sasuke tells Naruto.

"Seems like both of you are comfortable with each other. I think that maybe you two would make good parents. Maybe you always come back to Karin because she accepts you for you. You've had a hard time with dealing with other people since your parents died and Karin seems to give you space when you need it. I also know that Karin is always there when you call her up because you want to spend time with someone. Karin's had a rough time too and you two seem to catch each other when you need it the most." Naruto tells his friend

"Yeah Karin's never had a mother so she isn't as girly as most of the other girls and her dad has taught her to be independent." Sasuke said

"Exactly! You like Karin around because she makes decisions for herself, for example keeping your child before she told you she was pregnant." Naruto said

"I guess it does piss me off when girls do every single thing I tell them to do." Sasuke stated.

"What made you want to have a kid anyway?" Naruto asked

"I want to hear a family in my house again." Sasuke admits


End file.
